‘Young and the Restless’ Reveals Holden Is Malcolm’s Son: Nathan Owens Reacts (Exclusive)

It’s been a life-changing week for Holden Novak on The Young and the Restless. Not only has he discovered that Malcolm Winters (Shemar Moore) is his biological father, but he’s also learned that Malcolm needs a bone marrow transplant to help treat his aplastic anemia — dramatically raising the stakes.

For Holden’s portrayer, Nathan Owens, the revelation that his on-screen family was expanding came as a complete surprise. In fact, when he was called to a meeting with executive producer and head writer Josh Griffith, he feared the worst. “Initially, I was like, ‘Oh no, I gotta pack my bags. Here it is. Here’s the big firing,’” Owens relays.

Instead, Griffith delivered unexpected news. “Josh said, ‘I want you to know this before any kind of word gets out, but Vivica A. Fox and Shemar Moore are going to come in town and be your parents,’” recalls the actor, who was all too aware of their star power.

“I was taken aback immediately,” Owens adds. “With Vivica, I legitimately grew up watching her from Independence Day to Kill Bill, to all kinds of stuff, so I was pretty floored when I found out about that. And then, of course, Shemar Moore. I grew up seeing him throughout my whole life, and honestly, being compared to him. People were like, ‘Oh, you look kind of like Shemar Moore,’ and then sure enough, some years later, he’s playing my father. It was pretty cool.”

The twist marks a major turning point for Owens, whose character previously lacked strong ties to the canvas. “Not only was it not bad news, but it was actually pushing more so into the positive than I could ever imagine and anchoring me into one of the core families of the whole show,” he points out. “I was hoping that they would dive into more of Holden’s backstory and expand on that. I didn’t realize the avenues that could go with it, and I’m really glad this is the one that they picked. I was pretty amped up about it. And I was allowed to tell my mom, so I called her immediately and told her.”

Christine Bartolucci/CBS

Meeting his onscreen parents only added to the overall excitement, especially when he shared his first scenes with Fox. “We fell right into it because she’s one of the most warm, kind-hearted, but funny people that I know in this business,” Owens praises. “If she’s in the room, there’s a gravity around her. We started joking right off the bat, and I kind of have that relationship with my actual mom as well, where we joke around, so it was an easy transition for both of us to jump into that mother-son mode. She made it very easy. And then she’s a hard worker. She’s a blast.”

His first encounter with Moore was just as seamless. “I went up to him right as soon as I saw him, and we spoke for a little bit,” Owens shares. “He was the lead on a show [S.W.A.T.] that one of my really good friends was on [David Lim], so we had that rapport immediately through him. And he’s from the Bay Area, too, so we bonded over that. He was super cool and went above and beyond to say specifically that he’s just happy to see that I’m doing really well and wishes me all the best.”

On screen, however, Holden’s journey is far more complicated as he processes his mother’s revelation. “Holden had always grown up without a father, and for him, that was a lot,” Owens notes. “Now there is a man out there that’s his biological father and potentially could fill that void that he’s had his whole life, and it’s a lot for him to take on. He’s kind of sifting through that, not to mention the lie that his mother told him to begin with. So, there’s mixed emotions for Holden. It’s a lot for him to digest, and then on top of that, he’s being asked by his mother to go above and beyond to try to help this man and save him from potentially dying.”

Adding to the emotional complexity is Holden’s sudden connection to the Winters family, with whom he shares a rocky history. “Holden didn’t start off on the best foot with Lily [Winters, Christel Khalil] and Devon [Winters, Bryton James], and it’s been a little bit turbulent,” Owens points out. “So now the shift into being family members and trying to establish a new relationship with all these people is a bit overwhelming for Holden at this moment. He’s in the process of trying to make these bridges, trying to figure out how to cultivate a relationship with them, especially Lily being his blood sister.”

Christine Bartolucci/CBS

Fortunately, Owens received a warm welcome from his new on-screen relatives — Khalil, James, and Sean Dominic (Nate Hastings). “There were congratulations and hugs,” he relays. “They were very kind about it and pretty happy for me as an actor and as a person to be anchored in with the family as well.”

Being tied to an established soap family feels like both validation and an opportunity for Owens, who joined the cast in January 2025. “Another side of getting the news was that it was like being seen for the hard work that you put in and the preparation that you put in,” he notes. “I’m a big team player kind of guy, so everyone on the team means just as much as everyone else to me, whether you’re behind the camera, in front of the camera, side of the camera — we’re all working on this together. When they decided to put that effort into my character and storyline and just me in general, it was like a nod, like, ‘Thank you for doing the best you can. We see you.’”

Now, with Malcolm’s life hanging in the balance, Holden faces an emotional crossroads as he decides whether to help his newfound father. “Holden wants to do what’s right for his mom,” hints Owens. “He’s fighting to try to do the right thing, even though it hurts.”

The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS